Trees with leaves made of leaflets

What looks like a twig of small leaves is often one leaf made of leaflets. Count them, and see whether they spread from one point or line up along a stalk.

What to look for

  • Horse chestnutLeaflets spread from one point, like fingers
  • AshIn facing pairs, 9 to 13 leaflets, black buds
  • ElderIn facing pairs, 5 or 7 leaflets, an unpleasant smell when crushed
  • RowanUsually 15 toothed leaflets
  • WalnutSmooth-edged leaflets, usually 7, smelling of shoe polish
  • Honey locustSmall glossy leaflets, some leaves divided twice
Horse chestnut: leavesHorse chestnutFive to seven leaflets, fanned like fingers Common ash: leavesCommon ashNine to thirteen leaflets, the leaves in opposite pairs Elder: leavesKieran Roy Powell, CC BY 4.0ElderFive or seven leaflets, in opposite pairs Rowan: leaves呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), CC BY 4.0RowanFeathered into 13 to 15 toothed leaflets Walnut: leavesAlexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC BY 4.0WalnutUsually seven leaflets, smooth round the edge Honey locust: leavescigazze, CC BY 4.0Honey locustSmall leaflets in pairs, the stalk often branched Tree of heaven: leavesTree of heavenHuge and feathered, big teeth at each leaflet base
In the app

Not sure? Ask the app

  • Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely names the tree
  • No signal? The guided keyOne simple question at a time, about what you can see
  • Every part, through the yearSo you can name it in winter as surely as in June
  • A short round each dayUntil you know them on sight
App StoreGoogle Play

Free to download.

Photographs: steve_mcwilliam (CC0), Kieran Roy Powell (CC BY 4.0), 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi) (CC BY 4.0), Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas (CC BY 4.0), cigazze (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.